Force & Destiny

Planet Hopping....

Worlport, capital city of Ord Mantell

Alderaan has been destroyed. The party fled to the shadow port of Ord Mantell. According to Ping, it's "a nice place to get lost". They visited a local watering hole and raised a toast to the billions lost.

The team realized the gem Vaun Madurrin wears is a kyber crystal, similar to the one Parrel Sabota recorded his memories on. When they inserted it into their holocron, a new gatekeeper appeared. He is a recording of Jedi Master Suljo Warde, a general in the Clone Wars. Madurrin was excited by this as his records of the war are spotty or have been confiscated by the Empire.

Warde informed the fledgling Jedi that his data is incomplete. All he knew is Master Warde intended to record more lessons, including how to achieve his unique Force ability, Warde's Forsight. The gatekeeper was sure more data must be on other crystals and Warde separated them for some reason.

He suggested traveling to the planet Arbooine. At the limit of this crystal's memories, he knows Warde had met a potential apprentice, Gel Marcolf. Warde intended to train Marcolf while setting up a Republic base on Arbooine. But Warde was called away by the Jedi Council and ordered to leave the planet undefended. In a desperate move, Warde left Marcolf in charge. Though rash and untrained, Warde hoped the young man could hold the fort until he returned.

Warde's gatekeeper believed that the residents of Quolas, a tree city of Arbooine must know what became of Marcolf and Warde after this event.

It's not much of a lead, but Professor Madurrin encouraged them to follow it. Finding such a complete record of a Jedi general from the Clone Wars would be an invaluable inclusion in any Jedi archive. And knowledge is the first step on a long path to freedom….

Meanwhile, Jacen had dismantled the device he took from Rogarth ke Silkhund after their battle. Inside is another crystal. Without telling the others, he inserted it into the holocron and met a new gatekeeper. One who promises knowledge, power and secrets….

Once on Arbooine, the heroes had to battle the wilds of the ancient jungle. Not the least of their adversaries were massive predatory Bearsloths.

Arbooinian Bearsloth

Along the path they met a family of Sathari merchants who welcomed them to the planet, but warned of dark tidings in the city of Quolas. The reeve, Gel Marcolf, has spent many years solidifying power and holding sway over all that he rules. His guard force has become increasingly cruel and now that the Empire has taken notice of Arbooine, Marcolf is even more unhinged.

The party approached Quolas and made for the Imperial barracks outside the massive tree city. There they found part of the stormtrooper contingent. One well placed mind trick later and the young Jedi were ready to make for the city gates, Imperial troopers in tow….

Landfall....

Alderaan was like nothing the heroes had ever seen. The city of Aldera was clean and airy, quite unlike the cramped, vertical cities of Adumar. Sentients of every shape, including dozens of species the party had never encountered before, flourished, filling the wide streets.

The campus of the University of Alderaan seemed equally tranquil at first. The group, searching for Vaun Madurrin, came upon a student being harassed by some security officers. After talking them down, the student, Ping Capannus, gladly led them to Madurrin's office in a library and research center.

The party split up in the building and found Madurrin, who acted more like a nervous conspiracy theorist than a professor. He claimed he was being watched by the Empire. As he hastily explained what the Empire is, the group who remained on the main floor noticed more guards taking position around the room.

Xebo reached out with the Force, trying to forsee his immediate future. He was inundated with a vision of fire and pain. Nearly staggered he cried for the rest to follow him and run. Madurrin asked for them to take data cores which held most of his research on the Jedi Order of old.

The Imperial agents attacked and the group fled the building. By a twist of fate, Ping had a speeder outside so the group made quick time back to their ship. As they did, a shadow eclipsed Alderaan's sun. The Proving tore out of the atmosphere as a beam of acid green light consumed the air around them. Fire and pain followed.

The group barely escaped the planet's destruction. All were scarred by the millions of voices crying out in pain. But they lived to see another day on another world, wherever that may be….

To the Stars....

Fresh off the shootout in Adalrac ke Venn's secret hangar, the heroes scrambled aboard their new ship and prepared to flee Adumar. They were immediately set upon by two fighters from the Honorable Blood Talon squadron who chased them out of the atmosphere.

Nordaak took the flight controls while Xebo and Marlow jumped into gunnery turrets. Aro and Jacen took over the sensors and co-piloting duties. While the team's relative inexperience with spacecraft hampered their ability to dissuade their pursuers, a quick jump into hyperspace let them escape mostly unscathed.

Alone, off Adumar for the first time ever, in a deserted star system somewhere in the depths of space, the heroes had to regroup and assess. They discovered the ship is a long range scout ship, intended to travel the galaxy, complete with the supplies and equipment for long term survival and study. The crew names the ship The Proving to honor their Adumari heritage.

They had the means to travel, but no heading. Recalling their lessons with Parrel Sabota, the crew convened in the cockpit to meditate. His teachings weren't the only thing Sabota gave them. With his dying breaths, Sabota gave them his lightsaber and a strange ornate cube.

His final words echoing in their heads—"Join them. The knowledge is more valuable than any weapon. Join them…."—the heroes joined together, letting the Force guide their thoughts and actions. The two objects levitated in front of them, giving off an eerie glow in the darkened bridge. Soon, the lightsaber fell to pieces, revealing a stone much like those the heroes had collected in the caverns of Adumar.

The cube acted as well, pieces turning and pulling away, revealing empty chambers inside. The crystal inserted into one such slot before the cube reassembled itself. Their meditation over, the crew looked on as the cube hummed and glowed. An image like thick, cloudy liquid pouring out of a spout rose from the cube, coalescing into the likeness of Parrel Sabota himself.

"Hello my friends. I fear that if you are seeing this image, it means I am dead."

The hologram explained: The cube is a Holocron, an ancient device used by Jedi to store memories. The holographic image is a Gatekeeper, created in the likeness of a Jedi, possessing their personality, but only what knowledge was specifically recorded to the crystal within. So, while the hologram can act like Sabota, it only knows a portion of his memories. Sabota spent years forging his knowledge onto the crystal, knowing his disease would claim his life before he could pass on all he knew.

The gem is a Kyber crystal. They fuel a Jedi's lightsaber and using ancient, and very difficult, techniques can record information to be accessed by holocrons.

While the holocron isn't a complete record of Sabota's knowledge, it did know enough to show the fledgling Jedi how to build their own lightsabers. Now armed with these all-important aspects of Jedi livlihood, the heroes can step into the vast galaxy, knowing the Force is with them.

Sabota's hologram offered one more piece of advice: to seek out an old friend, Vaun Madurrin. The last Sabota knew, Madurrin, an accomplished professor of history and Jedi lore, was tenured at the main university campus on the planet Aldraan, in the capital city of Aldera.

The holocron provides hyperspace coordinates and the crew sets off on the first of many adventures….

Heroes Rising....

Deep in the caverns below Yedagon City, the group gathered around their Jedi Master. Parrel Sabota was weak. His battle with crazed nobleman Rogarth ke Silkhund pushed his body beyond its limits. His wounds combined with his chronic disease took their terrible toll.

Marlow's efforts to heal him were in vain. He was dying.

Sabota pulled his pupils in close. His breath became shallow and ragged as he pushed the handle of his energy blade into Xebo's hands. To Marlow he gave the ornate cube they saw in his hut.

"The crystal is the key. Join them. The knowledge is more valuable than any weapon. Join them. Now, my dear friends, you must leave me. I fear you're being hunted."

Voices sounded from far up the winding caves. The heroes fled to the far side of the cavern. As they ran, their burgeoning Force sensitivity felt a bright light flare up before dying out forever.

Now master-less, five novice Jedi ran. They expertly picked their way through the twisting caves and found another constructed door which led into another antechamber similar to the one beneath the Silkhund family tower.

Sticking their heads out the door, they were surprised by Tristan Venn rushing toward them.

"It is you! Your faces are everywhere. You're the most wanted people in the city. They say you killed Rogarth ke Silkhund. Everyone is looking for you. Come quickly. I can help."

Tristan led them up through the Venn family tower to street level. Surveying the city outside, it was true. Every giant flatscreen in Yedagon City glowed with the faces of the heroes. City-wide alarms sounded. Despite the lateness of the hour, the city hummed with activity as security and citizen alike searched for the fugitives.

When asked, Tristan admitted he was heading for the caves, assuming his father would be there. He's uncovered that Adalrac has secretly allied with Silkhund, despite their outspoken, public dislike of each other.

"You have to run. Take this datapad. It has coordinates to my father's secret hangar across the city. Inside is a ship you can use."

The heroes loaded into a speeder to flee across a city that was hunting them. One security officer nearly found them out, but Aro's ability to influence his mind harmlessly sent him on his way.

Upon locating the hangar, they had to deal with Venn's guards, two of whom were patrolling outside. Despite their best efforts, the guards found them out and the encounter quickly became a firefight, outside the hangar and in.

While Nordaak stayed near the door providing heavy fire from his rifle, the others rushed in, hoping to make quick work of their adversaries up close. Xebo activated Sabota's blade, finding it handled similarly to his blastsword. His skills notwithstanding, he had a hard time against his foes. He did eventually land a lethal blow, severing the man into pieces.

Jacen and Marlow backed him up while Aro snuck around the hangar, locating the ship Tristan promised them.

As the final few guards fled into the night, Aro dropped the ramp and the team rushed aboard their new starship. All that remained was escape a planet full of ruthless pilots, all of whom were hunting them…

The Depths....

Our heroes spent the evening celebrating in the village of Malik. But Parrel Sabota snuck away during the festivities, returning to his hut. When they followed, they discovered Sabota in a deep Jedi meditation, several items floating around him. The most curious of these was an ornate cube which looked to be crafted from stone and metal.

Sabota told the heroes the rest of his story: He was a Jedi Knight during the galaxy-spanning Clone Wars. While fighting legions of droids on a remote planet, Sabota's battalion was attacked with a biological weapon. Only focusing the Force has allowed Sabota to survive. All others eventually succumbed to the disease.

The war ended with the Clone army turning on their Jedi officers, killing thousands in one blow. Sabota was recovering on Coruscant, the galaxy's seat of government. He escaped the hunting troops and retrieved the location of Adumar from the Jedi library. After deleting the entry, he ran. His decision to leave has haunted him for many years.

He helped build the village of Malik, trying to live a quiet life, but decided the only way to atone was to find new students and pass on his Jedi knowledge. He knew Adumar had a deep connection to the Force, so he began seeking beings who demonstrated a particular affinity.

At the same time, he detected a wellspring of Force potential somewhere in Yedagon City. His searches collided when he met the heroes during the Proving.

He asked for their help to investigate the Force nexus, the entrance of which he now believed to be under Rogarth ke Silkhund's tower. For the moment, what he needed most was rest.

A few days later, the whole party traveled back to Yedagon and infiltrated Silkhund's tower. Deep in a subbasement, the found a door which opened to a cave system below. Obviously someone had already discovered and excavated the cavern.

As they moved forward, each fledgling Jedi felt a pull, a sign from the Force. They had to face a trial within themselves and afterward, each found a small jewel, humming with power. Why the Force called each of them to these tiny gems remains a mystery.

They delved deeper into the caves and came upon a large chamber, a lake with an island in its center. There was Sabota facing off with Silkhund himself. Silkhund held a stone cylinder, crackling with lightning. He screamed how he now had the power to make all of Adumar his own.

Sabota stood straight for the first time in weeks, dropping his old, worn robes. He broke open his walking stick, activated a dazzlingly bright blade of pure energy, and charged the would-be tyrant, only to be thrown back by a burst of energy from the strange stone in Silkhund's hands.

Sabota yelled for his students to stay away, but they ignored him. Xebo and Jacen leapt to the island. Xebo nearly brought Silkhund down with a toxin, but he proved heartier than previously thought, emboldened by rage and a dark power. Nordak began covering them with blaster fire. Aro never made a violent gesture, merely convincing the guards to disengage completely. Marlow made to rescue Sabota, nearly obliterating a man with her bare hands in the process.

Silkhund pounded the Jedi with lightning. Some, Sabota deflected, but he quickly weakened. His disease took its harsh toll on his body, the energy pouring into him did the rest. He fell, but before Silkhund could deliver one final blow, Marlow snatched her master from the ground, leaping back to the safety of the shore.

Enraged and distracted, Silkhund fell to the blades and blasts of his attackers. The electricity fizzled out as he died, cold and alone on the stones beneath his tower.

Jacen scooped up the strange stone cylinder and the heroes reconvened on the shores of the lake. They were now alone in the silence of the deep….

A Larger World....

After recovering Koa's Rising, the heroes returned it to a less than enthused Adalrac ke Venn, patriarch of the noble Venn family. He waved them off, disappointed that his ward, Jacen, was the one who retrieved it rather than any of his men. In payment of Nordaak's bounty offer, he gave each hero 100 credits and bid they be gone.

Outside Venn's office, his son Tristan waited, eager to greet his friend Jacen. He enthusiastically thanked them and when asked if they may borrow a speeder to visit Malik, he was glad to oblige.

Sabota greeted the group when they reached the village, escorting them through to a modest home. Inside, he removed the false skin he wears to hide his blue Pantoran skin. He proceeded to explain about the Jedi, the Clone Wars, and why he is hiding on Adumar.

For tens of thousands of years the Republic stood strong. But a Seperatist movement threatened its stability. Facing hordes of battle droids, the Senate commissioned an army made up of cloned humans. The Jedi Knights, scholars of the Force, guardians, and protectors of the peace, served as generals for the Grand Army of the Republic.

War raged for years and as the tides shifted in the Republic's favor, the unthinkable happened. Chancellor Palpatine declared the entire Jedi order traitors to the Republic and enacted Order 66, causing every clone soldier to turn and murder their officers and friends.

Sabota was on Coruscant, the Republic's capital, when Order 66 occurred. He managed to pull Adumar's location from the Jedi archives then delete it before escaping with his life.

Sabota believes Adumar to be strong in the Force and the five heroes before him to have the potential to be trained as Jedi Knights. He wishes to leave some good in the galaxy after fleeing in fear from everything he once knew.

The heroes agreed to learn from Sabota and spent the next few weeks returning to Malik. Under Sabota's teachings, they aided the town, all the while learning and meditating. The began to see the strength of their connection to the Force and gained new abilities and understanding of the world around them.

One such day of helping the citizens of Malik with nerf herding, the team was set upon by a flock of Ibbots, giant predatory birds. Sabota took the citizens back to the safety of town while the heroes made quick work of their wild foes.

That night, the village of Malik held a feast filled with life, joy, and mounds of freshly roasted Ibbot meat. Truly a victorious time. But, as the sky darkened, Sabota, leaning heavily on his walking stick, slipped away from the festivities, returning to his little shack on the edge of town, alone….

Onward and Upward....

The mysterious man proved equally helpful and unhelpful. He seemed rather willing to answer the heroes' questions regarding Koa's Rising. But in doing so, acted increasingly glib. He promised he would do nothing to hinder the party and requested his release. They did so, begrudgingly.

Then came the action. The party had to break into the 17th story penthouse suite of Rogarth ke Silkhund's tower. Fortunately for them, an open mall was just across the way. Even more fortunate, Nordaak carries a set of climbing gear.

After a harrowing fight with a single locked door, the party broke into the speeder parking lot on the top level of the mall. Two well placed shots decommissioned two guard droids patrolling Silkhund's balcony. The party mildly successfully rappelled over to the penthouse.

While they made quick work of some more droids, they were held up by two human guards who attempted to honor duel the party, defeating some of them before being stunned themselves.

Inside the only locked room of the penthouse, the party was greeted by none other than their same mysterious adversary. He presented them with Koa's Rising, handing it over willingly. He then finally identified himself.

Dropping a veil he had kept over his appearance, the slightly haggard man, with deep lines in his face stood tall and introduced himself as Parrel Sabota, a Jedi Knight. He told the party he thinks they're special and could explain more later.

Sabota helped them escape by driving them home in Silkhund's personal airspeeder. The party could meet him in two days time in the nearby village of Malik. Maybe there, they would learn what his cryptic words meant and take a new step toward their destiny….

First Steps....

Our intrepid heroes began their adventure on the busy streets of Yedagon City. In the chaos of The Proving, an ancient blastsword relic, Koa's Rising, was stolen from the home of the Venn family.

Jacen, ward of the Venn household had been tasked to track down the sword. An old acquaintance, Xebo, was drawn to visit the city for the first time in years, and they met amongst the bustle. Meanwhile, Marlow, who has been working with House Venn researching their family history, had taken to the local analysis hub to study Koa's Rising and try to determine why it's so valuable.

Unbeknownst to Jacen, Nordaak was hired by the family to investigate the disappearance as well. Hoping to recover the blade by diplomatic means, not the usual Adumari violence, Aro had taken up the task of her own volition.

Nordaak quickly found a group of street urchins who witnessed the theft. As Xebo and Jacen tried to listen in on their conversation, they were found out. A quick discussion revealed their common goal. Aro hooked up with them along the way and she suggested meeting Marlow, who would be most familiar with the blade's history.

While at the research hub, the party caught sight of a mysterious figure watching them. It ducked out into the busy street and eluded Nordaak and Xebo who took chase. Also outside was Hota ke Silkhund, daughter of the noble house, surrounded by an entourage.

After losing them in the crowd, the man from the research center reappeared near Hota and whispered to her as the group left. Marlow attempted to talk to him, but he offered no information beyond a veiled reference to seeing the party later that night.

It turned out Rogarth ke Silkhund was holding a gala that night; a chance for the party to find their quarry. Xebo was recruited by a guard as extra security to stand watch at the main entrance. With a little charming performance from Aro to distract the other guard, the rest of the party passed inside without trouble.

In the gala, they did not find Koa's Rising, but they did see their mysterious friend from earlier. A well placed stun from Xebo's blastsword rendered him unconscious, and a rousing classic Adumari drinking song from Nordaak distracted the crowd as they snuck his body out the back. Outside they had to contend with the same poor guard who recruited Xebo. They stunned him as well, leaving him to sleep in a side street.

Back in a small abode in the Venn family tower with their stunned prey, the party needed to get some answers….